Videos are the most popular content types more likely to go viral than any others. That's because videos are easy to consume, they are short (5 minutes average), and easy to share.

And since it's now easier to create online videos, more and more videos are uploaded daily. So how do you get your target audience to even watch your videos?

Your videos have to be interesting, very engaging, funny, and educative. But it will take a person to watch your videos before they can even find out whether your videos are interesting or funny.

From one of my recent training tutorials titled "How Embedded YouTube Videos Can Affect Your Website", I got a request to write a separate tutorial on how to create custom thumbnails for a YouTube video. Here's my answer.

This brings us to one important element of videos that video creators often underrate. I'm talking about your video thumbnails and the effect it has on your video's viewership.

This step-by-step guide outlines the importance of YouTube video thumbnails and how to create them using Canva.

Thumbnails Overview

Thumbnails are those rectangular shaped pictures that are placed on the URLs of videos. Once a person clicks on any thumbnail, such will be directed to the actual location where the video is hosted.

In a sense, thumbnails give you a preview of what to expect from a particular video. And if your thumbnail is attractive enough, you are likely to get more video views because more people will click on your thumbnail.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to creating thumbnails but certain things are important.

You need to use colors that appeal to your target viewers and ensure that the image you use is high definition. Also, use words that will capture the interest of your target viewers and make them want to watch your video.

The size and weight of a thumbnail depend on what you want to use the video for and the platform you are uploading it on. If you want to upload to YouTube, then the best would be 1280px by 720px. While the thumbnail shouldn't exceed 2MB, make sure the width of your thumbnail isn't smaller than 640.

A very good tool to help you create stunning thumbnails is Canva and I'll be showing steps on how to go about it.

I mentioned YouTube earlier because it's the largest video platform and the most likely to get more views for your videos. Before we get into the steps of creating your thumbnail, let's find out why thumbnails are so important.